It is appropriate that Kyle Young owns the oldest Camaro of the three Young brothers because he is the eldest. For many years he had saved the money that he earned doing jobs like mowing lawns and stacking firewood in order to buy a Camaro. Because of fond memories of riding in his dad’s ‘68 Camaro, that was the make and model he wanted. When he heard of a ‘67 Camaro for sale three and a half years ago, he took his dad to check it out. Although it had been sitting for a number of years and had issues with the interior and suspension, the body was sound and the running gear was in good shape. As a long-time hot rodder, his dad could see the potential and gave his okay for Kyle to buy it. The original 327 CID engine and trans had been replaced with a newer Chevy 350 CID matched to a Muncie M21 four-speed transmission. The car had been lowered by cutting the springs, causing suspension problems. The seats and steering wheel had been replaced with non-stock ones that Kyle didn’t like. The only paint on the body was primer. Kyle knew what he wanted to do to fix up the car, but he did not have the money to do so after purchasing it. It took another year and a half to earn the money, but Kyle had only been fifteen when he bought the car, so he wasn’t able to drive it then anyway. With his dad’s help, he replaced the messed-up suspension and added front disc brakes. He redid the interior, using original Camaro seats. He did all the prep work for painting, saving a lot of money and gaining a lot of experience. Since they do not have a paint booth at the house, he had the paint done professionally and is pleased with the results. Although he does not drive it daily to school, he does drive it regularly. And it is the oldest Young Camaro.

Although GM had been toying with the idea of a sporty four-seater since 1958, it was not until after Ford brought out the Mustang that the Chevy Camaro was born. Unlike the Mustang, the Camaro had a front subframe with the rest a uni-body.

The original 327 was replaced with a newer 350 CID engine. Camaro did have a 350 CID option in 1967, the first year for that displacement.

As a sports coupe, bucket seats were standard. Kyle had a lot of work to bring this interior back to good, stock condtion.

Story & photos by Ron C. © 2009